Jason C . Bartz, PhD
Associate Dean, Academic and Faculty Affairs
Professor
Contact
School of Medicine
Med Microbiology & Immunology
Medical Microbiology and Immunology (Doctorate)
Medical Microbiology and Immunology (Master of Science)
Neuroscience (Master of Science)
Graduate School
SOM Leadership
SOM Academic Faculty Affairs
CRISS II 421
Jason C . Bartz, PhD
Associate Dean, Academic and Faculty Affairs
Professor
Teaching Interests
- Prion disease
Research Focus
Prion diseases are a group of fatal neurodegenerative diseases that affect humans (e.g. Creutzfeldt-Jacob disease) and animals (e.g. chronic wasting disease). Prions are comprised of PrPSc, a self-templating conformation of the host encoded protein, PrPC.Research in the Bartz lab investigates interspecies prion transmission, prion pathogenesis, the environmental fate of prions, and the biology of prion strains. We have developed novel whole animal and in vitro models of prion disease and, more importantly, the results from these systems have impacted the understanding of prions. The results of our work have changed the paradigm of how a protein encoded infectious agent can encode strain diversity, which as significant impact on prion diseases and prion-like diseases (e.g. Parkinson’s) where prion strain diversity is also observed. We have identified novel routes of prion infection and the pathways that prions travel to the CNS. Importantly, we were the first to show that inhalation of prions is more efficient that oral infection. We have also mapped, in fine detail, the pathways of prion spread throughout the CNS and shown that prion strains use the same neuroanatomical pathways. More recently, we have expanded our studies to include the interaction of prions with the environment. We have leveraged our expertise in prion biology with our collaborators in environmental engineering and have made fundamental discoveries on how prions interact with the environment and how this influences the biology of prion disease. We are one of a handful of labs in the world that are investigating prion diseases that have expertise in both whole animal and biochemical approaches to prion disease. Overall, we have been able to integrate our work on prion strains, pathogenesis and the environmental fate of prions that provides a unique insight into the biology of this disease.
Department
Med. Microbiology & Immunology
Position
Professor
Book, Chapter/Section
- Neuroimmune Pharmacology and Therapeutics
Steadman Benjamin S., Bartz Jason C., Prion Diseases of Animals and Humans [Book Chapter] 2024 - Prions and Diseases
Shikiya Ronald A., Bartz Jason C., Prion Strain Interference [Book Chapter] 2023 - Handbook of Clinical Neurology
Diack Abigail B., Bartz Jason C., Experimental models of human prion diseases and prion strains [Book Chapter] 2018 - Viral Infections of Humans : Epidemiology and Control
Belay Ermias D., Bartz Jason C., Prion Diseases [Book Chapter] 2014 - Prions and Diseases : Volume 2, Animals, Humans and the Environment
Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L., Bartz Jason C., Saunders Samuel E., Prions in the environment [Book Chapter] 2013
Books
- Bartelt-Hunt S. L., Saunders S. E., Bartz Jason C., Soil Binds Prions and Influences their Biologic Properties 2012
Publications
- Prion
Frank Lexi E, Flack Nicole, Faulk Christopher, Block Alyssa J, Bartz Jason C, Larsen Peter A, Epigenetic changes associated with the progression of prion disease in Syrian hamsters ( Mesocricetus auratus )
20:1, p. 52 - 65 2026 - Prion
Gresch Sarah C, Morrill Tamara, Ellis-Cramer Maddy, Bartz Jason C, Schwabenlander Marc D, Wolf Tiffany M, Mitchell Gordon B, Guan Jiewen, Larsen Peter A, Frank Lexi E, Arifin Maria, Prion seeding activity in DNA extractions: implications for laboratory biosafety
20:1, p. 1 2026 - PLoS pathogens
Koshy Sam M, Hrdlicka Jay, Nichols Michael G, Stender Anthony S, Taylor Jack H, Castilla Joaquín, Bartz Jason C, The axonal transport velocity of prions is independent of prion formation
22:7, p. e1014456 2026 - Neurobiology of disease
Gatdula Jean R.P., Saunders Linnea M., Mirza-Romero Nadia A., Orbe Isabel C., Tolton Samantha G., Vultaggio Janelle S., Mercer Robert C.C., Bartz Jason C., Telling Glenn C., Eraña Hasier, Castilla Joaquín, Harris David A., Leveraging the dominant-negative effect of the kuru-protective G127V prion protein variant as a novel therapeutic strategy
227, p. 107506 2026 - ACS omega
Benedict Antryg, Zhang Wei, Bartz Jason C., Yuan Qi, Li Hui, Adsorption of Zwitterionic and Capped Amino Acids to Graphene: A Molecular Dynamics Study 2026 - Journal of mammalogy
Frank Lexi E., Bartz Jason C., Larsen Peter A., Emerging risks at the vampire bat-prion interface: implications for wildlife, livestock, and public health 2026 - PLoS pathogens
Woerman Amanda L., Bartz Jason C., Consequences of prion strain mixtures: Indifference, competition, or collusion
22:2, p. e1013956 2026 - Acta neuropathologica
Holec Sara A. M., Khedmatgozar Chase R., Schure Shelbe J., Bartz Jason C., Woerman Amanda L., Co-infection with two α-synuclein strains reveals novel synergistic interactions
150:1, p. 50 2025 - Prion
Grunklee Madeline K., Lichtenberg Stuart S., Lurndahl Nicole A., Schwabenlander Marc D., Karwan Diana L., Li E. Anu, Bartz Jason C., Yuan Qi, Larsen Peter A., Wolf Tiffany M., Detection of chronic wasting disease prions in soil at an illegal white-tailed deer carcass disposal site
19:1, p. 8 - 19 2025 - Emerging infectious diseases
Milstein Marissa, Gresch Sarah C., Schwabenlander Marc D., Li Manci, Bartz Jason C., Bryant Damani N., Christenson Peter R., Lindsey Laramie L., Lurndahl Nicole, Oh Sang-Hyun, Rowden Gage R., Shoemaker Rachel L., Wolf Tiffany M., Larsen Peter A., Lichtenberg Stuart S., Detection and Decontamination of Chronic Wasting Disease Prions during Venison Processing
31:4 2025 - Pathogens (Basel)
Walter W. David, Herbst Allen, Bartz Jason C., Hopkins M. Camille, Lue Chia-Hua, Overview of North American Isolates of Chronic Wasting Disease Used for Strain Research
14:3, p. 250 2025 - Journal of visualized experiments
Simmons Sara M., Yuan Qi, Bartz Jason C., Prion Safety Laboratory Swipe Test 2025 - mSphere
Kincaid Anthony E., Clouse Melissa D., Magrum Shawn M., Bartz Jason C., Direct prion neuroinvasion following inhalation into the nasal cavity, p. e0086324 2024 - mBio
Steadman Benjamin S., Bian Jifeng, Shikiya Ronald A., Bartz Jason C., Minor prion substrains overcome transmission barriers, p. e0272124 2024 - mSphere
Simmons Sara M., Payne Vivianne L., Hrdlicka Jay G., Taylor Jack, Larsen Peter A., Wolf Tiffany M., Schwabenlander Marc D., Yuan Qi, Bartz Jason C., Rapid and sensitive determination of residual prion infectivity from prion-decontaminated surfaces, p. e0050424 2024 - Pathogens (Basel)
Bartz Jason C., Benavente Rebeca, Caughey Byron, Christensen Sonja, Herbst Allen, Hoover Edward A., Mathiason Candace K., Morales Rodrigo, McKenzie Debbie, Schwabenlander Marc D., Walsh Daniel P., , Chronic Wasting Disease: State of the Science
13:2, p. 138 2024 - Biology (Basel, Switzerland)
Simmons Sara M, Bartz Jason C, Strain-Specific Targeting and Destruction of Cells by Prions
13:1, p. 57 2024 - Prion
Sweetland Gregory D., Eggleston Connor, Bartz Jason C., Mathiason Candace K., Kincaid Anthony E., Expression of the cellular prion protein by mast cells in the human carotid body
17:1, p. 67 - 74 2023 - PLoS pathogens
Gunnels Tess, Shikiya Ronald A, York Taylor C, Block Alyssa J, Bartz Jason C, Evidence for preexisting prion substrain diversity in a biologically cloned prion strain
19:9, p. e1011632 - e1011632 2023 - Scientific reports
Block Alyssa J., York Taylor C., Benedict Romilly, Ma Jiyan, Bartz Jason C., Prion protein amino acid sequence influences formation of authentic synthetic PrPSc
13:1, p. 441 - 441 2023 - Cell and Tissue Research
Block Alyssa J., Bartz Jason C., Prion strains 2022 - PLoS pathogens
Block Alyssa J., Shikiya Ronald A., Eckland Thomas E., Kincaid Anthony E., Walters Ryan W., Ma Jiyan, Bartz Jason C., Efficient interspecies transmission of synthetic prions
17:July 2021 - Journal of Biomolecular Structure and Dynamics
Soto Patricia, Claflin India A., Bursott Alyssa L., Schwab-McCoy Aimee D., Bartz Jason C., Cellular prion protein gene polymorphisms linked to differential scrapie susceptibility correlate with distinct residue connectivity between secondary structure elements
39:1, p. 129 - 139 2021 - mSphere
Shikiya Ronald A., Kincaid Anthony E., Bartz Jason C., Bourret Travis J., Failure to detect prion infectivity in ticks following prion-Infected blood meal
5:5 2020 - Journal of Clinical Investigation
Bartz Jason C., Underglycosylated prion protein modulates plaque formation in the brain
130:3, p. 1087 - 1089 2020 - Journal of Clinical Investigation
Bartz Jason C., Underglycosylated Prion protein modulates plaque formation in the brain
130:3, p. 1087 - 1089 2020 - Journal of Biological Chemistry
Bourkas Matthew E.C., Arshad Hamza, Al-Azzawi Zaid A.M., Halgas Ondrej, Shikiya Ronald A., Mehrabian Mohadeseh, Schmitt-Ulms Gerold, Bartz Jason C., Watts Joel C., Engineering a murine cell line for the stable propagation of hamster prions
294:13, p. 4911 - 4923 2019 - Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease
Sigurdson Christina J., Bartz Jason C., Glatzel Markus, Cellular and Molecular Mechanisms of Prion Disease
14, p. 497 - 516 2019 - mSphere
Holec Sara A.M., Yuan Qi, Bartz Jason C., Alteration of prion strain emergence by nonhost factors
4:5 2019 - PLoS pathogens
Eckland Thomas E., Shikiya Ronald A., Bartz Jason C., Independent amplification of co-infected long incubation period low conversion efficiency prion strains
14:10 2018 - Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces
Phan Hanh T.M., Bartz Jason C., Ayers Jacob, Giasson Benoit I., Schubert Mathias, Rodenhausen Keith B., Kananizadeh Negin, Li Yusong, Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L., Adsorption and decontamination of α-synuclein from medically and environmentally-relevant surfaces
166, p. 98 - 107 2018 - Journal of Virology
Yuan Qi, Telling Glenn, Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L., Bartz Jason C., Dehydration of prions on environmentally relevant surfaces protects them from inactivation by freezing and thawing
92:8 2018 - Journal of Immunology
Kane Sarah J., Farley Taylor K., Gordon Elizabeth O., Estep Joshua, Bender Heather R., Moreno Julie A., Bartz Jason, Telling Glenn C., Pickering Matthew C., Zabel Mark D., Complement regulatory protein factor H is a soluble prion receptor that potentiates peripheral prion pathogenesis
199:11, p. 3821 - 3827 2017 - Plos Pathogens
Shikiya Ronald A., Holec Sara A. M., Mathiason Candace K., Kincaid Anthony E., Langenfeld Katie A., Eckland Thomas E., Trinh Jonathan, Bartz Jason C., PrPSc Formation and Clearance as Determinants of Prion Tropism
13:3, p. e1006298 - e1006298 2017 - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Bian J., Castilla J., Telling G. C., Meyerett-Reid C., Kim S., Calvi C. L., Bartz Jason C., Hoover E. A., Vidal E., Agrimi U., Richt J. A., Khaychuk V., Angers R. C., Fernandez-Borges N., Prion Replication without Host Adaptation during Interspecies Transmissions
114:5, p. 1141 - 1146 2017 - Journal of Virology
Kincaid Anthony E., Bartz Jason C., Ayers Jacob I., Specificity, Size, and Frequency of Spaces that Characterize the Mechanism of Bulk Transepithelial Transport of Prions in the Nasal Cavities of Hamsters and Mice
90:18, p. 8293 - 8301 2016 - PLoS Pathogens
Bartz Jason C., From Slow Viruses to Prions
12:7, p. (3 pages) 2016 - Journal of Virology
Langenfeld Katie A., Shikiya Ronald A., Kincaid Anthony E., Bartz Jason C., Incongruity between Prion Conversion and Incubation Period Following CoInfection
90:12, p. 5715 - 5723 2016 - Biophysical journal
Woo Jesse, Nieri Chad, Gonzalez Roger, Bartz Jason C., Soto Patricia, Conformational Dynamics of Prion Proteins at the Membrane Interface
110:3, p. 419a - 419a 2016 - Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Medicine
Bartz Jason C., Prion strain diversity
6:12 2016 - PLoS One
Phan H. T., Bartelt-Hunt S., Rodenhausen K. B., Schubert M., Bartz Jason C., Investigation of Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) Attachment onto Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAMs) Using Combinatorial Quartz Crystal Microbalance with Dissipation (QCM-D) and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE)
10:10, p. (20 pages) 2015 - Journal of Virology
Elder Alan M., Henderson Davin M., Nalls Amy V., Mathiason Candace K., Hoover Edward A., Kincaid Anthony E., Bartz Jason C., Immediate and ongoing detection of prions in the blood of hamsters and deer following oral, nasal, or blood inoculations
89:14, p. 7421 - 7424 2015 - New Horizons in Translational Medicine
Elder Alan M., Mathiason Candace K., Henderson Davin M., Nalls Amy V., Kincaid Anthony E., Hoover Edward A., Bartz Jason C., Longitudinal analysis of blood-borne prion infection
2:4-5, p. 128 - 128 2015 - PLoS Pathogens
Yuan Q., Eckland Thomas E., Telling G., Bartz Jason C., Bartelt-Hunt S., Mitigation of prion infectivity and conversion capacity by a simulated natural process--repeated cycles of drying and wetting
11:2, p. e1004638 2015 - Biophysical journal
Soto Patricia, Bartz Jason C., Graft William, Gonzalez Roger, Nieri Chad, Zhao Bo, Prion Proteins and Mechanisms of Interaction with Model Membranes
108:2, p. 91a - 91a 2015 - Prion
Shikiya Ronald A., Eckland Thomas E., Young Alan J., Bartz Jason C., Prion formation, but not clearance, is supported by protein misfolding cyclic amplification
8:6, p. 415 - 420 2014 - PloS one
Elder Alan M., Wilham Jason M., Henderson Davin M., Nalls Amy V., Caughey Byron W., Hoover Edward A., Bartz Jason C., Mathiason Candace K., Kincaid Anthony E., In vitro detection of prionemia in TSE-infected cervids and hamsters
8:11 2013 - Journal of Virology
Kincaid Anthony E., Hudson K.F., Richey M.W., Bartz Jason C., Rapid Transepithelial Transport of Prions following Inhalation
86:23, p. 12731 - 12740 2012 - Journal of Biological Chemistry
Kang Hae Eun, Weng Chu Chun, Saijo Eri, Calvi Carla, Bartz Jason, Hunter Nora, Telling Glenn C., Khaychuk Vadim, Ramos Laylaa, Saylor Vicki, Bian Jifeng, Angers Rachel, Langenfeld Katie, Kim Sehun, Characterization of conformation-dependent prion protein epitopes
287:44, p. 37219 - 37232 2012 - PloS one
Saunders Samuel E., Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L., Bartz Jason C., Resistance of soil-bound prions to rumen digestion
7:8 2012 - Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE
Saunders Samuel E., Bartz Jason C., Shikiya Ronald A., Protein misfolding cyclic amplification of prions. 2012 - Prion
Kincaid Anthony E., Feilmann Shawn, Bartz Jason C., Lorenzo Albert, Clouse Melissa, Multiple routes of prion transepithelial transport in the nasal cavity following inhalation
6, p. 55 - 55 2012 - Applied and Environmental Microbiology
Saunders Samuel E., Bartz Jason C., Vercauteren Kurt C., Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L., An enzymatic treatment of soil-bound prions effectively inhibits replication
77:13, p. 4313 - 4317 2011 - PloS one
Mays Charles E., Yeom Jihyun, Kang Hae Eun, Bian Jifeng, Khaychuk Vadim, Kim Younghwan, Bartz Jason C., Telling Glenn C., Ryou Chongsuk, In vitro amplification of misfolded prion protein using lysate of cultured cells
6:3 2011 - PloS one
Saunders Samuel E., Yuan Qi, Bartz Jason C., Bartelt-Hunt Shannon, Effects of solution chemistry and aging time on prion protein adsorption and replication of soil-bound prions
6:4 2011 - PLoS Pathogens
Ayers J. I., Aguzzi A., Kincaid Anthony E., Schutt C. R., Shikiya R. A., Bartz Jason C., The Strain-Encoded Relationship between PrP Replication, Stability and Processing in Neurons is Predictive of the Incubation Period of Disease
7:3, p. e1001317 2011 - Journal of Virology
Shikiya R. A., Bartz Jason C., Ayers J. I., Schutt C. R., Kincaid Anthony E., Co-infecting prion strains compete for a limiting cellular resource
84:11, p. 5706 - 5714 2010 - Environmental Science and Technology
Saunders Samuel E., Bartz Jason C., Bartelt-Hunt Shannon L., Influence of prion strain on prion protein adsorption to soil in a competitive matrix
43:14, p. 5242 - 5248 2009 - PLoS pathogens
Singh Ajay, Isaac Alfred Orina, Luo Xiu, Mohan Maradumane L., Cohen Mark L., Chen Fusong, Kong Qingzhong, Bartz Jason, Singh Neena, Abnormal brain iron homeostasis in human and animal prion disorders
5:3 2009 - Journal of Virology
Ayers Jacob I., Kincaid Anthony E., Bartz Jason C., Prion strain targeting independent of strain-specific neuronal tropism.
83:1, p. 81 - 87 2009 - Prion
Schutt Charles R., Bartz Jason C., Prion interference with multiple prion isolates.
2:2, p. 61 - 63 2008 - Journal of Virology
Kincaid Anthony E., Bartz Jason C., The nasal cavity is a route for prion infection in hamsters
81:9, p. 4482 - 4491 2007 - Journal of Virology
Bartz Jason C., Kramer M. L., Sheehan M. H., Hutter J. A. L., Ayers J. I., Bessen R. A., Kincaid Anthony E., Prion interference is due to a reduction in strain-specific PrPSc levels
81:2, p. 689 - 697 2007 - Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry
Shara Michael, Yasmin Taharat, Kincaid Anthony E., Limpach Aimee L., Bartz Jason, Brenneman Karrie A., Chatterjee Archana, Bagchi Manashi, Stohs Sidney J., Bagchi Debasis, Safety and toxicological evaluation of a novel niacin-bound chromium (III) complex
99:11, p. 2161 - 2183 2005 - Journal of Virology
Marsh R. F., Bessen R. A., Bartz Jason C., Kincaid Anthony E., Interspecies transmission of chronic wasting disease prions to squirrel monkeys (Saimiti sciureus)
79:21, p. 13794 - 13796 2005 - Bartz Jason, Prion Transport to Secondary Lymphoreticular System Tissues 2005
- Journal of Virology
Mulcahy Ellyn R., Bartz Jason C., Kincaid A. E., Bessen R. A., Prion infection of skeletal muscle cells and papillae in the tongue
78:13, p. 6792 - 6798 2004 - Journal of General Virology
Bartz Jason C., Aiken J. M., Bessen Richard A., Delay in onset of prion disease for the HY strain of transmissible mink encephalopathy as a result of prior peripheral inoculation with the replication-deficient DY strain
85, p. 265 - 273 2004 - Journal of Virology
Bartz Jason C., Kincaid Anthony E., Bessen Richard A., Rapid prion neuroinvasion following tongue infection
77:1, p. 583 - 591 2003 - Journal of Virology
Bartz Jason C., Bessen Richard A., Mckenzie Debbie, Marsh Richard F., Aiken Judd M., Adaptation and selection of prion protein strain conformations following interspecies transmission of transmissible mink encephalopathy
74:12, p. 5542 - 5547 2000 - Journal of Biological Chemistry
McKenzie Debbie, Bartz Jason, Mirwald Jean, Olander Doris, Marsh Richard, Aiken Judd, Reversibility of scrapie inactivation is enhanced by copper
273:40, p. 25545 - 25547 1998
Grants
NIH R01 - Characteristics of prion entry and neuroinvasion following nasal cavity infection
NIH R01 Supplement - Mechanisms of prion strain selection
NIH R01 Supplement - Mechanisms of prion strain selection
LB 692 - Mechanisms of environmental selective pressure on prion strain properties
USDA NRI - In vitro differentiation of prion conformations to define strains to aid in surveillance
NIH COBRE - Prion strain targeting and competition in the central nervous system
United States Department of Defense National Prion Research Program - Prion transport to secondary lymphoreticular system tissues
LB 692 - Determination of prion transport via intranasal routes
USDA NRI - Thioflavine T detection of the prion protein